Jonathan Bailey on His Close Collabs With 'Wicked' Co-Stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Talks 'Jurassic World Rebirth' & More | THR Video - video Dailymotion

Hollywood Journal

Jonathan Bailey chats with The Hollywood Reporter during his THR cover shoot about his close collabs. From working with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in 'Wicked' to calling his collaboration with 'Jurassic World Rebirth' director Gareth Edwards one of the most "important." Plus, he talks working with stars like Matt Bomer, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Ian McKellen and calls his 'Bridgerton' family "the ultimate collaboration."

Transcript

00:00Anything is easier than squatting down in a tiny little thong made of plastic bags,

00:05covered in mud, looking up at Ian, who's got flowers in his hair.

00:11Hello, I'm Jonathan Bailey, and I'm here with The Hollywood Reporter

00:14to share with you some of my close collabs.

00:25The first film, obviously, with Ari,

00:28the collaboration was like putting a mento in Diet Coke,

00:32and it was twinkly, to say the least,

00:37and that was right for the chemistry between Fiero and Glinda,

00:40and that sort of ability to keep everything alive and playful.

00:44I look forward to working together again, for sure.

00:48So, yeah, with both of them, actually.

00:50It's just amazing what you can do with eye contact on a set,

00:58and that's especially true with Matt Bomer.

01:02We just can check in with each other,

01:03and especially when you're telling this love story over 40 years,

01:06a love story of two men,

01:07obviously at a time where the government were crippling the gay community,

01:12but the playing of that and being around those people

01:15showed me what it's like to have a true confidence

01:19in an environment where you can just soar and fly,

01:23and as you go forward, we see each other all the time.

01:27I love Matt.

01:27I love Noah.

01:28I love Jelani.

01:29And Ron makes me sort of well up when I see him.

01:33I think a lot of us have got a lot to thank Ron for,

01:36and it's amazing when you think about Philadelphia,

01:38obviously extraordinary, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks,

01:41and then we had a series played by a gay cast.

01:45There's nothing to be prouder of, really, than that.

01:52We actually met doing Broadchurch,

01:54and she came into the second season of a TV series in the UK called Broadchurch,

01:58and she came in as my sort of, like, love interest,

02:01and we spent so many hours in a courtroom,

02:04and I was at the back as playing a journalist,

02:07and she was playing, I think, the prosecuting lawyer,

02:10or on the lawyer's team.

02:10Anyway, so we sort of got to know each other there.

02:14We really bonded one day after a really hot,

02:17endless day filming in this sort of varnished cauldron of a set,

02:24and we got in the car and had a beer on the way back,

02:26and we just sort of really clicked,

02:28and I didn't know then that we ended up, you know, doing crashing together,

02:33and I've described filming crashing before

02:35as being on the brink of an orgasm for six weeks,

02:39and the truth is,

02:42I feel like I'm on the brink of an orgasm every time I see Phoebe.

02:45She really is an amazing sounding board,

02:47and I think our brains just go brink,

02:50a bit like Tetris.

02:56When Fierro meets Elphaba,

02:59she's the first person that he meets in his life, I think,

03:01who completely sees through that and shuts him down,

03:03so the collaboration with Cynthia,

03:06especially going into the second film,

03:07proved incredibly vital, tender.

03:13We know what Cynthia did in the first film,

03:16which was sort of Olympian and smart

03:22and beyond even, you know, what her talent could achieve,

03:26and in the second film,

03:27she just continues to mine a performance

03:29that was really astonishing to play with,

03:32and our collaboration really was about,

03:34which I think was true to Fierro and Elphaba,

03:35was one of making sure that there was everything she needed,

03:41and it was just a joy to be able to unpeel

03:44and to, yeah, together,

03:47because that's what they do, really,

03:48and she inspires that in him,

03:51and she inspired that in me.

03:56He played King Lee, and I played Edgar with him

04:02at Chichester Festival Theatre,

04:03which is where the National Theatre was founded in the 60s,

04:08and it was a kind of, it was a, you know,

04:10it was a spiritual, religious experience

04:12going to work with one of our greatest Shakespearean actors,

04:17greatest actors,

04:18and you work with someone like Ian,

04:21and you know that you just want to work as hard as you can

04:23so that you can play as fiercely and as intelligently

04:27and, yeah, as sillily as he does,

04:32and the one thing I learned,

04:34he played Edgar before,

04:36and so it was amazing to have him there as a sort of mentor,

04:39but it's one of the hardest parts in Shakespeare,

04:42so having done that, I realised anything's easier.

04:44Anything is easier than squatting down

04:46in a tiny little thong made of plastic bags

04:49covered in mud,

04:51looking up at Ian,

04:52who's got flowers in his hair,

04:55being amazing,

04:57but every day we'd get,

04:58we'd get drenched on stage in a rain machine,

05:00and then we'd come off stage

05:02and like sit by the sort of electric fire,

05:05have a little snack,

05:06and put the world to rights.

05:07Jurassic World Rebirth.

05:14So much to say.

05:15About to go on a press tour,

05:17and I'm sure a lot will be covered,

05:18but Gareth Edwards,

05:19I wanted to say,

05:21is one of my most important collaborations.

05:23You know, his films have been,

05:25I've been a massive fan of Gareth's,

05:27way before I even knew I'd get to work with him.

05:30I think many having seen the film now,

05:31which by the way is like knockout,

05:33and I can't wait to see you in the cinema

05:35while I was watching it.

05:36Some of the most beautiful human moments

05:39weren't scripted,

05:41and they sort of came up with it in the moment.

05:44And so we sort of managed to really,

05:47to build on,

05:49for Loomis, Dr. Henry Loomis,

05:50the love, the wonder, the awe.

05:53Everything that, you know,

05:54I think we so loved about so many films growing up,

05:56and so much of the way that Gareth talks about his process,

06:00I really understand,

06:03and meet and feel the same way.

06:06What is the ultimate collaboration,

06:12and hard to choose one,

06:15so I've just said the Bridgerton family.

06:18Filming with, you know,

06:19supporting Phoebe Dynevor in the first season,

06:21and then going into our own,

06:23and having Shelley,

06:25Shelley Conn,

06:26and Taritha Trandon as well,

06:28as the Chtharni family.

06:30With Simone,

06:30and it was like tunnel vision,

06:33and it's an amazing enemies to love a story.

06:36And, yeah,

06:37but really,

06:38it's this amazing opportunity

06:39to share a whole lifetime,

06:41you know,

06:42as characters and as siblings,

06:43and that plays out.

06:45I am going to be an older brother to all of them

06:47until the day I die.

06:49I've been Jonathan Bailey,

06:53here with The Hollywood Reporter,

06:55sharing with you some of my close collabs.

06:57I'll see you next time.

06:58I'll see you next time.

06:59Bye.

07:00Bye.

07:01Bye.

Jonathan Bailey on His Close Collabs With 'Wicked' Co-Stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Talks 'Jurassic World Rebirth' & More | THR Video

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